The two global payments big guns, Visa and Mastercard, have affirmed that they are still in a working relationship with Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, despite the current regulatory scrutiny.
According to the Financial Times, they understand the regulatory concerns around Binance and they are closely monitoring the situation.
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Mastercard noted that it’s closely following Binance’s reaction to the regulatory scrutiny, while Visa pointed out that it’s still in dialogue with the leading crypto exchange. For now, users of the crypto company can continue to fund their accounts with their cards.
Due to the current challenges, especially in the United Kingdom, a lot of banks and other smaller companies have stopped working with the cryptocurrency exchange.
How It Started
Over the past few weeks, Binance has been in the news after it became the target of the regulatory watchdog in the United Kingdom. The UK Financial Conduct Authority had ruled that the crypto exchange has no approval to operate in the country. Similarly, other countries such as Italy have issued warning against engaging with Binance.
Binance is majorly accused of aiding money laundering, financing terrorism, and supporting terrorism on its platform.
Additionally, since June 2020, the Federal Trade Commission has reportedly received 760 complaints from customers against the cryptocurrency exchange.
In reaction to the regulatory scrutiny, Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the CEO of Binance, stated that the exchange is adhering to regulatory requirements, adding that the company has grown rapidly in a few years, but not without lapses.
In a blog post on 15th July 2021, CZ stated that Binance is working towards doubling his compliance team by the end of the year, stating that the international compliance team has grown by 500% since 2020. He pointed out that the regulatory clarification of crypto companies such as Binance is very important for the continued expansion of the cryptocurrency ecosystem.
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CZ noted:
“We plan to double our team size by the end of the year, with qualified and experienced advisors to support. Binance has grown very quickly and we haven’t always got everything exactly right, but we are learning and improving every day.”